Usual Suspects

    Much as I like the movie, this post is not about the movie !

    Pretty much all through COVID, the only thing that kept us from going insane, has been our walks. Now I that I dont have the morning rush to leave for walk, I can talk a long walk every morning. Earlier , I used to alternate between walking and pilates and for sometime now, I have taken a hiatus from pilates - because there is a suspicion that the one hour long intense workout was lending a helping hand to my migraines.

    Every morning for the past year or so has pretty much been the same routine, trying to take a walk between anywhere between 6:30 - 8:00 in the morning and rarely in the evenings also. Some nights after we have had dinner, we would force the girls to come on a walk with us - 2 rounds around the apartment... these are the best times as there would hardly be a soul on the road .. We would discuss the most common topic of theirs - dog names and what breeds they would like ! Okay that topic is still doing the rounds to bug the life out of me. 

    Mornings are a different story - it is about meeting the "Usual suspects" ... Yes , now you got the topic!

    I pride our family to be the most active in the apartment in terms of regular walks/excercises, only to be beaten by "The Couple" ... As the Mr. says, you just cannot go for a walk without seeing them. And they are always in the opposite direction to us - so I have to see them 12 times !!! twice every round .. 

    Then comes the couple - as Mr. calls - Tilty pots - one has her head tilted to one side slightly and the other - no matter how many years he has been walking - never seems to cause a dent to his well rounded pot-belly. But I personally appreciate these folks - they are just so consistent in keeping their walking regime and when the swimming pool was open in summers , she gave the Mr. a good whipping in the pool. Boy! did she she have a good swimming stamina. Unfortunately for her and the Mr. the pool has been pretty much lying untouched for a year now. 

    There has been a new entrant on the suspects list. This helper who walks the two pugs - vanilla and chocolate - that is the name I gave them .. one is a pure white, while its partner pure black. She is forever on her phone, while she ambles along slowly with her leashed four-footed companions. But she never misses giving a smile behind her mask when our eyes meet. It is funny to hear the pugs panting as if they have done a 100 mt sprint, when all they would have done is take a couple of steps. 

    Then there is the old couple who remind me of my in laws. The aunty - a constant companion to the uncle while he rushes forward , not bothering to wait for her. She is always carrying a small handbag and ocassionally chatting with him, while he grunts responses. They are so adorably cute. 

    There is one another pair we miss - not seen for few months now - boxer brothers.. Two men who live in polar opposite sides of the apartment complex and wear identical boxer shorts and take quick 2-3 rounds of walk , while using makeshift kerchiefs as masks.. 

    There are the dog walkers then ... our neighbour walking his 9 months old golden retriever, Zoey , who stops and looks at us when we pass by , as if to say - I think i have seen you somewhere. The Mr. has to go just a little closer and she will jump all over him. Star, another mixed breed - this owner is very consistent in his timing and he often takes care of all the dogs together when the doggies walking meet up and have a little "chat" - read as jumping on each other and playing - he manages to catch all the leashes together. Then there is Murphy , who sleeps more than walks .. he will prod a few steps and just dump himself down.. no amount of cajoling will coax him to get up from his perch. Later we figured he had some physical ailment and now I see him walking much brisker and better.  Little Sparks - a cute bichon frise is the latest addition. She looks exactly like Tintin's snowy.. it seems that her feet are hardly on the ground.. they just touch for a second before bouncing up in the air again ... There is then Laya, our oldest dog companion ... she is quite old now, so just ambles around slowly ... while Murphy and Zoey, little pups jump around excited when they see another dog - Laya just stands there majestically, wagging her tail and letting the pups jump all around and on her. If it is evenings, you can catch up with a beagle - a perfect white-choco mix. On Rare ocassions you can also run into a couple of Shih-Tsu's in the apartment - mind you it will take a minute or two to find the front and the rear end and then a few more moments to find the eyes admist the jungle of hair on their face. 

    Like a flash in pan are some runners - who grace the roads with their company for a few days and then just disappear for months on. 

    Then there are those that the Mr. calls Season smarties. They suddenly barge into your life for a just a few days. No matter when you walk, you are bound to see them - just everywhere and anywhere and then just as quick they came, they vanish out of your life ! The current season smartie is a tall, white-haired grandpa with a very small paunch. He is there anytime I am walking - morning evening, and till a few weeks ago he was nowhere in my walking life. Few months ago, was this young lady in our apartment block, who would just run and run and run .... no matter when u are our - you are bound to see her stiff run... and now she is vanished poof! no where to be seen .. 

    But life is definitely made interesting with their usual suspects. We nod, smile and acknowledge their slight presence in our lives and enrich our lives a little more...